Johan Santana whiffs 10 as New York Mets triumph

George McNish/The Star-LedgerMets starter Johan Santana delivers a pitch in the first inning at Shea Stadium Tuesday against the Chicago Cubs.

NEW YORK -- There's no other way to put this. The Mets simply had to win this game.

Imagine the pandemonium if Johan Santana had folded in a critical late-September game?

In light of last year's collapse and the mounting pressure on a fading Mets team, Santana came through with a centerpiece performance. In the Mets' 6-2 win over the Cubs Tuesday night at Shea Stadium, Santana fought off an early deficit and a shriveled strike zone to dominate a first-place club he could possibly face next week.

In eight crisp innings, Santana (15-7) allowed two runs and struck out 10. He did so on 125 pitches, though interim manager Jerry Manuel kiddingly said that with the cool weather he would have upped Santana's limit to a robust 225.

In terms of Mets wins this season, this is as big as they get. A club that had lost three straight coming in could not have stomached a loss from their ace at this point of the season.

"Every big game that we needed and Johan's turn was due, he stepped up," Manuel said. "He stepped up big. He brings a level of intensity that those guys really enjoy playing behind and getting behind. I think that's the one intangible that separates him a little bit."

Here's how everything shakes out, playoff-wise. The Phillies still lead the National League East, but their advantage has fallen to 1 1/2 games. The Brewers kept their hopes alive when Prince Fielder mashed a walk-off homer to keep them within a game of the Mets for the NL wild card.

While the superlatives flew out for Santana, the key hits came from the Mets' two other big stars. David Wright's game-tying single in the fifth was soon topped by Jose Reyes' game-busting triple in the sixth.

Sure, the Cubs had already clinched the NL Central and are here at Shea concerned only with fine-tuning their playoff plans. So manager Lou Piniella sat several regulars, including Aramis Ramirez, Geovany Soto, Ryan Theriot and Jim Edmonds. Even with a slightly neutered lineup, the Cubs took a 2-0 lead off Santana to start.

The burst came in the second and third innings, the only period when Santana struggled. A double from Kosuke Fukudome scored the first run, followed by a run-scoring single from Reed Johnson in the next inning.

Santana had some issues with home-plate umpire Phil Cuzzi over the size of his strike zone. He said it was the first time in his career he had ever argued with an official. Some strong words came over from the dugout as well, and Cuzzi ripped off his mask to warn the Mets bench.

Not soon after, Santana stepped up like few Mets pitchers have this year.

"We cannot afford to lose any games," Santana said. "I knew and I felt that I could do this. ... It seems like every time out there the game is important."

He even helped set up the Mets offensively. With one out and a runner on in the fifth, Cubs pitcher Sean Marshall splintered Santana's bat on an inside fastball. The maple model Santana swings is notorious for its brittleness, and the head of the bat shot out in front of the ball.

It had two effects: It blinded Marshall from fielding the grounder, and a piece of the bat hit the ball before second baseman Ronny Cedeno could field it. The wild scramble was soon followed by Wright's two-out single, which scored a pair of runs.

"I'm glad I could come through. It was a big at-bat," Wright said. "Not just for my confidence, but for the team's."

Reyes broke the game open when he had a bases-loaded triple to right in the sixth. When he motored into third base, he slapped his chest and gestured over to his dugout. These hits were missing from Reyes last September, when he was the prime goat for the Mets' collapse.

But the Mets didn't have Santana then. No pitcher was capable of stunting a losing streak like the battle-tested Santana can. On a day when the Yankees were eliminated, Santana is doing his best to ensure there is a postseason future for the Mets.

"We've had a lot of difficult times," Manuel said. "We've got a lot of making up to do. A lot."